Dodd was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, and was subsequently reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004. He is the first senator from Connecticut to serve five consecutive terms.

Facing a competitive reelection bid for his Senate seat in 2010 and trailing against both of his likely Republican challengers in public opinion polling,[9] Dodd announced in January 2010 that he would not seek re-election for a sixth term in the Senate. Polls of Connecticut voters in 2008 and 2009 had consistently suggested Dodd would have difficulty winning re-election, with 46% viewing his job performance as fair or poor and a majority stating they would vote to replace Dodd in the 2010 election.[10]

During the 1994 elections, the Republicans won the majority in both houses of Congress. Dodd therefore entered the minority for the second time in his Senate career. He ran for the now vacant position of Senate Minority Leader, but was defeated by South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle by one vote. The vote was tied 23–23, and it was Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell who cast the deciding vote by absentee ballot in favor of Daschle.

From 1995 to 1997, he served as General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As General Chairman, Dodd was the DNC's spokesman. Donald Fowler served as National Chairman, running the party's day-to-day operations. Dodd has also involved himself in children's and family issues, founding the first Senate Children's Caucus[11] and authoring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),[12] which requires larger employers to provide employees unpaid leave in the event of illness, a sick family member, or the birth or adoption of a child. To date, more than 50 million employees have taken advantage of FMLA mandates. He is working to support a bill that would require employers to provide paid family and medical leave. For his work on behalf of children and families, the National Head Start association named him "Senator of the Decade" in 1990.[12]

Dodd briefly considered running for President in 2004, but ultimately decided against such a campaign and endorsed fellow Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. He then was considered as a likely running mate for his friend, eventual Democratic nominee John Kerry. He was also considered a possible candidate for replacing Daschle as Senate Minority Leader in the 109th Congress, but he declined, and that position was instead filled by Harry Reid.

The watchdog group opensecrets.org pointed out that the Dodd campaign was heavily funded by the financial services industry, which is regulated by committees Dodd chairs in the Senate.[13][14]

In May, he trailed in state and national polls and acknowledged he wasn't keeping pace with rival campaigns' fund raising. However, he said that as more voters became aware of his opposition to the Iraq War, they would support his campaign.[15] However, his prospects did not improve; a November 7, 2007 Gallup poll placed him at 1%.[16]

Dodd dropped out of the primary race on the night of the January 3, 2008 Iowa caucuses after placing seventh with almost all precincts reporting, even though he had recently moved from his home state to Iowa for the campaign.[17]

On January 17, 2012, Dodd released a statement criticizing "the so-called 'Blackout Day' protesting anti-piracy legislation."[25] Referring to the websites participating in the blackout, Dodd said, "It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services. It is also an abuse of power... when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests."[25] In further comments, Dodd threatened to cut off campaign contributions to politicians who did not support PIPA and SOPA, legislation supported by the MPAA.[26]

In his role as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Dodd proposed a program in June 2008 that would assist troubled sub-prime mortgage lenders such as Countrywide Financial in the wake of the United States housing bubble's collapse.[27]Condé Nast Portfolio reported allegations that in 2003 Dodd had refinanced the mortgages on his homes in Washington, D.C. and Connecticut through Countrywide Financial and had received favorable terms due to being placed in the "Friends of Angelo" VIP program, so named for Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. Dodd received mortgages from Countrywide at allegedly below-market rates on his Washington, D.C. and Connecticut homes.[27] Dodd had not disclosed the below-market mortgages in any of six financial disclosure statements he filed with the Senate or Office of Government Ethics since obtaining the mortgages in 2003.[28]

On June 17, 2008, Dodd met twice with reporters and gave accounts of his mortgages with Countrywide. He admitted to reporters in Washington, D.C. that he knew as of 2003 that he was in a VIP program, but claimed it was due to being a longtime Countrywide customer, not due to his political position. He omitted this detail in a press availability to Connecticut media.[36]

On July 30, 2009, Dodd responded to news reports about his mortgages by releasing information from the Wall Street Journal showing that both mortgages he received were in line with those being offered to general public in fall 2003 in terms of points and interest rate.[37]

On August 7, 2009, a Senate ethics panel issued its decision on the controversy. The Select Committee on Ethics said it found "no credible evidence" that Dodd knowingly sought out a special loan or treatment because of his position, but the panel also said in an open letter to Mr. Dodd that the lawmaker should have questioned why he was being put in the "Friends of Angelo" VIP program at Countrywide: "Once you became aware that your loans were in fact being handled through a program with the name 'V.I.P.,' that should have raised red flags for you."[38] Interestingly, Dodd has since been called Wall Street's "biggest booster, the most Machiavellian of United States Senators..." in Jeff Connaughton's book, The Payoff: Why Wall Street Always Wins (Prospecta Press, printed 2012).

During this period, Dodd denied rumors these firms were in financial crisis. He called the firms "fundamentally strong",[40] said they were in "sound situation" and "in good shape" and to "suggest they are in major trouble is not accurate."[41] In early September, after the firms continued to report huge losses,[42] Secretary Paulson announced a federal takeover of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Dodd expressed skepticism of the action, which the Treasury estimated could cost as much as $200 billion.

Dodd is the number one recipient in Congress of campaign funds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.[43]

In February 2009, Kevin Rennie, a columnist at the Hartford Courant, ran an op-ed concerning Dodd's acquisition of his vacation home in Roundstone, Ireland.[44] The article alleged that Dodd's former partner in buying the home had ties to disgraced Bear Stearns principal Edward Downe, Jr. who has since been convicted of insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission.[45] After paying an $11 million fine for his role in the scam, Downe later obtained a pardon in the waning days of the Bill Clinton administration. The controversial pardon was granted after Dodd lobbied Clinton on Downe's behalf. Dodd's letter to the President said, "Mr. President, Ed Downe is a good person, who is truly sorry for the hurt he caused others".[46] After Downes' pardon, Dodd bought out the interests of his partner for a price allegedly based on a 2002 bank appraisal of the Roundstone home, which yielded little profit for Dodd's partner.[47][48] Rennie criticized Dodd for claiming the Roundstone home was worth less than $250,000 in Senate ethics filings; some observers estimated the likely value in excess of $1 million USD.[49]

In June 2009, Dodd provided a new statement to the Senate reporting the actual value of his Irish property at $658,000.[50] The Wall Street Journal later compared this issue to the ethical charges which led to the political demise of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.[51]

From the fall of 2008 through early 2009, the United States government spent nearly $170 Billion to assist failing insurance giant, AIG. AIG then spent $165 million of this money to hand out executive "retention" bonuses to its top executives. Public outrage ensued over this perceived misuse of taxpayer dollars.

The Fox Business Network broke the story claiming Dodd was responsible for the inclusion of a clause limiting excessive executive pay in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.[52] On February 14, 2009, the Wall Street Journal published an article, Bankers Face Strict New Pay Cap, discussing a retroactive limit to bonus compensation inserted by Chris Dodd into the stimulus bill that passed in the Senate.[53]

The same article went on to mention that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers "had called Sen. Dodd and asked him to reconsider".

When the bill left conference, Dodd's provision had been amended to include a provision preventing limits on bonuses previously negotiated and under contract. This provision was lobbied for by Geithner and Summers.

As Dodd explained in his March 18 interview on CNN,[54] at Geithner and the Obama Administration's insistence he allowed his provision's original language to include Geithner and Summers' request, which in turn allowed AIG to give out bonuses under previously negotiated contracts. However, Dodd's provision also includes language allowing the Treasury Secretary to examine bonuses doled out and, if they are found to be in violation of the public interest, recoup those funds.

Dodd retreated from his original statement that he did not know how the amendment was changed.[55] Dodd was criticized by many in the Connecticut media for the apparent flip-flop.[56][57] In a March 20, 2009 editorial the New Haven Register called Dodd "a lying weasel"[58] The same day, Hartford Courant columnist Rick Green called on Dodd not to seek re-election in 2010.[59]

The Hill.com described Dodd as "reeling" from the controversy[60] and having "stepped in it" after changing his story as to the bonus amendment.[61]

At a press conference in Enfield, Connecticut, on Friday, March 20, Dodd responded to critics and explained that his original answer to a CNN answer was based on a misunderstanding of the question.[62] He also said he was disappointed that the Treasury officials who asked him to make the legislative changes had not identified themselves, refusing to confirm the actual identity of the individuals responsible for changing the amendment.[63]

The next day, voters in Ridgefield rallied against Dodd and the Obama economic agenda[64] The Manchester Journal Inquirer suggested that "Chris Dodd's explaining may have only begun".[65]

Opensecrets.org reports Dodd has received over $223,000 from AIG employees, many of whom were Connecticut residents, for his recent campaigns.[66] Additionally, it has recently been revealed that Dodd's wife is a former Director for Bermuda-based IPC Holdings, a company controlled by AIG. She held this position before she married him.[67] On May 3, 2009, the Courant reported Dodd's wife served on a number of corporate boards, including the CME Group and could be earning as much as $500,000 annually for her service on said boards.[68] On March 30, 2009, it was reported that former AIG Financial Products head Joseph Cassano personally solicited contributions from his employees in Connecticut via an e-mail in fall 2006 suggesting that the contributions were related to Dodd's ascension to the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee.[69]

Dodd is credited with inserting the last-minute pay limit into American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The pay restrictions included prohibition of bonuses in excess of one-third of total salary for any company receiving any money from the plan and was retroactive to companies that received funds under Troubled Assets Relief Program.[72]Fortune magazine however, panned this provision as likely to "drive the craftiest financial minds away from the most troubled institutions". This article also pointed out the Dodd bill delegated to the Treasury Secretary the right to approve appropriate restaurants for client entertainment.[73]

In May 2009, Dodd was the author and lead sponsor of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 22, 2009. The law requires card companies give cardholders 45 days notice of any interest rate increases, prevents card companies from retroactively increasing interest rates on the existing balance of a cardholder in good standing for reasons unrelated to the cardholder's behavior with that card, and prohibits card companies from arbitrarily changing the terms of their contract with a cardholder, banning the so-called practice of "any-time, any-reason repricing." Also included in the bill were provisions requiring companies to give cardholders time to pay their bills by requiring card companies to mail billing statements 25 calendar days before the due date and individuals under the age of 21 to either show income or have a co-signer in order to obtain a credit card. In a conference call with reporters after the bill was signed, Dodd stated his intention to continue work on capping credit card interest rates at thirty percent and to establish limits on fees that merchants pay when a customer uses a credit card for a purchase.[74]

Dodd announced on June 22, 2009, that he supports same-sex marriage. He had opposed gay marriage in the 2008 election, but stated that his daughters are growing up in a different generation than his and that his views have evolved over time.[75] Same-sex couples have been able to marry in Connecticut since November 12, 2008, following the Connecticut Supreme Court's ruling.[76][77] In April 2009, the legislature overwhelmingly passed and Governor Jodi Rell signed a bill making all references to marriage in law gender neutral.[78][79]

Dodd was also responsible for writing and getting passed S. 1858 (Public Law 110-204): Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007.[80] The implications of this law are many, including that any child born after April 2008 have a sample of their blood taken for DNA analysis. This sample is taken without consent or knowledge of the parents and then becomes property of the Federal Government. This data is supposed to be used for the good of the children such as testing for rare genetic disorders but is controversial in that it is not optional.[81]

On July 31, 2009, he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which his aides said was at an early stage and would result in surgery during the Senate August recess.[84] Dodd has since had the operation, and says his operation was fully successful.